zejohns19@gmail.com

I am considering purchasing a 2012 s4 with a 3.0 v6 supercharged. An import mechanic I was speaking with said to be cautious about the v6's as they tend to present spendy issues. He mentioned camshaft replacements, and other issues where remediation requires engine removal to solve the failure. However he used examples of cars before 2012. The vehicle I am looking at has 56k miles.

Has anyone had any significant issues to be wary of with this engine?

togatown

If you troll all the S4 forums, you will find the 3.0 Supercharged engine to be extremely reliable in general. I have had mine for 35k miles and am at 60k with absolutely zero issues. The only real weak spot is the thermostat, but I have not heard of one person with a camshaft issue and no one having to pull a motor for anything short of rare catastrophe.

zejohns19@gmail.com

got it, thanks togatown

DrGP

These are the issues with this engine. Water pump, Thermostat and PCV valves are all prone to failure . The T stat and PCV valves require removing the supercharger to repair. The 2010-11 cars had plastic WPs and have all failed by now and replaced with metal WPs. Those have an occasional failure but not common. IMHO, ALL the T stats will eventually fail. It's just a matter of time and mileage. The PCV valve failure causes an oil consumption issue. I believe I have it now on my current 2011. Audi has a TSB fix for it but it encompasses only a few model yrs. Its not bad enough for me to have the SC removed to fix it. Otherwise, this engine is great. Very few other internal engine issues.

zejohns19@gmail.com

thanks for the info DrGP, very helpful

JackInOhio

Question regarding the 3.0 in my '13 S5.

I'm taking it in for the 45K service. On a previous trip, they pulled a stored code for a CEL (the code is not listed), and now want to fix it.
Invoice says "Secondary Air Low Flow 09AUZ001 Order parts for evap low flow repair 573 IPSA 43567 ordered part according to TSB # 2040403/2".

I've had no CELs since buying used w/ ~40K miles, runs fine. All my research indicates this was related to the carbon build-up on older 2.7T engines or the like. No reference to the 3.0 any where. Search of NTSB for the TSB# finds nothing as well.

Does this sound legit ? I hate dealers fixing things that aren't broke.

Thanks,
JackInOhio

togatown

If you are bringing it in for service anyway, and it really is a TSB and there is no charge for repair, what is your concern?

JackInOhio

I see your point, however, it's just my general inherent distrust of all dealers. Since it doesn't fit the profile for my vehicle, I think it's "make-work" for warranty profit. Plus I don't understand how much disassembly is involved....once the proverbial "seal" is broken, things are never the same.

togatown

Don't really know what to tell you, except to grill the SA when you go in for 45k service appt, about how the TSB applies to your specific car, and make sure he gives you a good answer to your concerns.

DrGP

I don't believe it pertains to a carbon build up issue.